ill fantail

Question
Hi Chris
Thanks for your response - unfortunately both our orange fantails died yesterday.  I had realised I was overfeeding them - stemming from a worry that the two large fish would gobble up all the food and leave none for the new much smaller fish.
The tank is 165 gallons so, even thought both Splish and Splash are about 7" long, there is still plenty of space for more fish.  
Our two chocolate fantails (Truffles and Galaxy)are absolutely fine and currently measure under 2".
When you suggest veggies 3 times a week would that be instead of flakes on those days or as well as?
Many thanks
Helen

Followup To
Question -
Hello
I have had two goldfish for ten years.  About 8 weeks ago we moved them into a larger (Fluval 750)tank because they had little space in the old one.  After a few days we added 2 chocolate fantails, then a few weeks later (about 3 weeks ago) we added 2 orange fantails.
Yesterday morning when we came down one of the orange fantails was floating on his side - he did not come up to eat.
I took some water to our local aquatics store for testing and he said my phosphate levels were high so I have put some phosphate remover into the filter, as well as doing a 20% water change.  He also suggested some salt as a tonic which I added this morning.  My fantail is still on his side - again didn't eat this morning and the other orange fantail is very lethargic spending alot of time on the bottom of the tank.  The other 4 fish are fine.  Is there any advice you can offer me?  The guy at the shop seemed rather negative about Gizmo's chances.
many thanks, Helen :o)
Answer -
Hi Helen;

Poor guys. What is the actual gallon size of the tank?  Could it be overcrowded? Goldfish are very messy guys so they need 5 to 10 gallons while small (2 inches in body length). They will need 10 to 20 gallons or more per fish once they get to be adults at 8 inches and larger. Without enough space they will develop problems like what yours are experiencing. The new tank is probably still going through a break-in period too.

Do a water change of 25% every day for the next 3 or 4 days. There may be elevated toxins in there and the orange fantails are just more sensitive to it for some reason. The salt is a very good tonic. You can use up to one teaspoon per gallon. Be sure to add more salt for the water replaced when you make the water changes.

Phosphate by itself is not going to cause fish to be sick like that. Phosphates cause excess algae but it really isn't toxic to the fish directly. It is a sign of overfeeding though. Only feed enough flakes or pellets for the fish to eat from everywhere in the tank in five minutes. Feed them those dried foods once a day. Goldfish also need veggies in their diets but give them in addition to the dried foods. Give them peeled green peas, green beans and romaine lettuce about 3 times a week. Cucumber and squash slices are good too. Veggies don't rot like regular food so you could leave them in the tank all day for them to nibble on.

Watch the sick fish for patches, redness, spots, eye swelling, bloating, protruding scales, etc. If any of these occur they may need medicine. Let me know how it goes so we can decide on a different treatment......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Answer
Hi Helen;

What a shame. I'm sorry we couldn't do more for them.

That is a wonderful size tank! I wish I had room for one that big. The biggest I have room for in my house is my 55.

I like to feed just a little bit of regular food when I drop the veggies in. Just not as much as a regular feeding. Maybe half a feeding or so. Some people just put the veggies in alone. That's fine too, especially if the tank has been a bit dirty.

Keep up the good work.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins